About
Agave 'Praying Hands' is a perennial plant that develops a rosette shape. Its leaves are thick and fleshy, resembling artichokes, and are dark green with deep purple spots. The edges of the leaves curve upward, and each leaf features a single maroon-red spine at its tip.
About the genus
Agave consists of either perennial or monocarpic succulents that develop rosettes of typically stiff, thick, spiny leaves. The plants produce funnel-shaped flowers in racemes or panicles that often exceed the height of the rosettes.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H2
Plant details
- Plant type
- Cactus Succulent
- Habit
- Bushy
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Height
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Spread
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 10-20 years
- Suggested uses
- City and courtyard gardens, Cottage and informal garden, Gravel garden, Patio and container plants
- Toxicity
- Skin irritant. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling. Pets (dogs, cats): harmful if eaten. For further information and contact numbers regarding pets, see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow under glass in cactus compost in full light. Water freely in summer, giving a low-nitrogen feed three or four times. Water less in autumn and keep dry in winter. Can be planted in a patio pot in a sunny position but will need to be over-wintered indoors. See houseplant cacti and succulent cultivation for further advice
- Pruning
- No pruning required
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed sown under glass in spring, or by offsets if produced in spring or summer
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to scale insects
- Disease resistance
- Generally disease-free